Tell me about Savage Worlds

[Mallus]

2. The Fantasy Companion: It is my understanding that this has options for tailoring divine magic and arcane magic to be more like D&D.

We played around with converting some of our 3e caster PC's (13th-14th level) to Savage Worlds and were happy with the result, using the Explorer's Edition plus the Fantasy Companion, and a few odds and ends from the various setting books.

The consensus was Savage Worlds offered a nice, compact set of tools for modelling magic-using characters. From DM's/homebrew author's perspective, I'm finding Savage Worlds to be a better fit for magic than 3e. My setting has idiosyncratic schools of magic which are more easily done using SW's combination of Arcane Backgrounds, Trappings, and a (relatively) small Powers list. It's much simpler than trying to build these schools using 3e, where there never were enough spells of each type for per level (sure, there's always re-skinning, but real mechanical differences are nice sometimes).

It's very PC-focused; again good for Action Movie 'Big Damn Heroes'; as written the 'world' will likely seem sketchy, at worst a cardboard back-drop for the Heroes to strut on.

So far, that's how our SW/Slipstream campaign is playing out -- but I don't think it's a product of the rules, it's just the timbre of that particular game. Then again, I rarely see "depth" as a rules issue.

It's very very 'gamey', with lots of elements there specifically to be fun, like the playing card initiative, the wild die, exploding dice & raises. Some of these may have a simulationist basis too; but it's simulating action movies, not life.

Agree again... but what RPG's simulate real life? SW just seems up-front about what's traditionally been an unspoken assumption about what's actually being simulated.

So far, actual round-by-round combats have pretty much been my least favourite element, and have tended to drag & feel a bit unsatisfying. They take less time than 4e combat, but can *feel* longer. It was nice when I finally managed to headshot a zombie (exploding 2d6 for 23 damage!) though. Partly we're still getting used to the system.

Same here. One week we had a great fight scene, the next we had one that lasted almost the entire session. Which surprised us, since we came to SW from D&D 4e and had thought we were leaving those behind. Granted it was a complicated battle, in complex terrain, against ludicrous anthropomorphic shark gangsters, plus we were tired, but still... I recall feeling "this product isn't exactly as advertised". I'm sure we'll get up to speed on speedy combats in time.

I find the system is more "simulist" from the tactics side. If someone starts shooting, you get to cover or go prone. People piling on you, even lowly extras, can take you down fast.

I see frequently nods towards "simulation" throughout the rules, such as in many of the Edges/Hindrances, and in the advice to pay attention to the in-game fiction when adjudicating mechanics (I guess the basis for "simulation" is merely consensus common sense).

I just wouldn't use it for dungeon crawls.

I think that's why my group took to SW rather quickly, to the point of serious considering converting our two stalled 3e and 4e campaign to it. Our D&D games are never based around dungeon crawls --it's arguable our current AD&D campaign will feature a lot of the them.

Awhile back, someone posted "I really like Monte Cooke's stuff (Dungeon a Day, etc). I wish he wrote for Savage Worlds."

My response: "He does, but he just does not know it. Its so easy to convert stuff that its no different than just normal game prep."

I do believe you're right!

 

[Rel]

I agree completely with amerigoV about the ease of converting things to SW. I've been running a fairly generic fantasy campaign for my wife and daughter for over a year using 3e D&D modules. I've woven together pieces of DCC's Into the Wilds, The Forge of Fury, Sunless Citadel and now Terror in Freeport. And it's all been incredibly easy.

To me that is one of the things I want most from a system. Not just ease of converting other systems such that I can mine my existing RPG library for cool stuff, but the ability to convert my musings and ideas easily into the system without the mechanics getting in my way. This lets me devote nearly all of my game preparation to thinking creatively and only spend a few minutes messing with mechanics.

In fact, for the weekly SW game I run with my regular gaming group, I typically do zero game prep in terms of mechanics prior to the session. When I arrive at the game I spend about 10 minutes flipping through books and jotting notes while waiting for all the players to arrive, chat, etc. And I can typically run the entire session and consult my notes/books about twice for 30 seconds each time.

 

[amerigoV]

To me that is one of the things I want most from a system. Not just ease of converting other systems such that I can mine my existing RPG library for cool stuff, but the ability to convert my musings and ideas easily into the system without the mechanics getting in my way. This lets me devote nearly all of my game preparation to thinking creatively and only spend a few minutes messing with mechanics.

.

That is an excellent point. Tucked away amongst the "is 5e coming?" threads, you occasionally see a "I watched X the other day and was wondering how to convert it to d20?" On PEG's boards, you see a lot of "I watched X the other day and here is my Savage version." It's fun to watch/read/play a video game and know you could "run" it with very little prep.

 

[Eric Tolle]

And what if you did not roll well?

Bye
Thanee

You write a BASIC program that churns out a thousand or so characters until the high school computer class teacher kicks you off the printer. Then characters jump off the roof of the inn until you got the character you wanted.

 

[amerigoV]

You write a BASIC program that churns out a thousand or so characters until the high school computer class teacher kicks you off the printer. Then characters jump off the roof of the inn until you got the character you wanted.

Ah, the Goode Olde Days!

"I rolled 18/00 strength! Really!"

There are days where I think I could go back to 1e if I swapped the AC method to go up, allow channeling of CxW spells (or maybe allow the mass production of healing wands), and maybe grab the 2e thief skills allocation method.

 

[nnms]

I find that with the setting rules and minor tweaks, you can support a wide variety of play, from super heroic to gritty horror. The default settings are definitely for pulp/action hero type games.

 

[Thanee]

You write a BASIC program that churns out a thousand or so characters until the high school computer class teacher kicks you off the printer. Then characters jump off the roof of the inn until you got the character you wanted.

Good answer!

Bye
Thanee

 

[S'mon]

Well, I was thinking that there is so much D&D support for D&D - fighting monsters in dungeons to take their stuff - whereas SW only has a little bit. But I think it'd be great for running an Action Movie style game set in Eberron or Forgotten Realms! I just wouldn't use it for dungeon crawls.

To expand on that a bit - Savage Worlds doesn't have the reams of monsters & magic items that are the foundation of the dungeon crawl. But it seems like a great system for pulp fantasy adventure in the mode of Indiana Jones. I don't know Eberron, but for Forgotten Realms it would work great for a campaign with mostly human foes, eg fighting the machinations of the Zhentarim would be perfect. SW lets you build Zhent 'wild cards' quickly and easily and the magic rules have the right level of detail for Zhent war-mages; it might struggle a bit for eg a Red Wizards of Thay based campaign. And it's great for battles with large numbers of Zhent mook 'extras'. Perhaps more importantly, the non-combat rules for skill & ability use work well and feel very satisfying in play - my experience so far is that SW free-flowing 'action' is better than its gridded 'combat'.

 

[nnms]

Eberron is supposed to be heavily pulp influenced and Savage Worlds would be perfect for pulp adventures in Eberron. Dungeon crawling is probably the least appropriate mode of play for a pulp setting like Eberron.